" I think even if Bernanke wants to blow his credibility and tell Congress everything is fine today, the sting of last night?s oil shock and the Beazer investigation will be very hard to shake off. Today we will be happy to avoid a triple digit Dow drop."

", which you can watch online. It?s a great behind the scenes look at the people behind the trades. I especially like the guy who?s proud of the fund he manages that bases investment decisions on the migratory patterns of elephants?"

"Asian markets are migrating South with the Nikkei and the Hang Seng in triple digit retreat. "

" due to a combination of a poor harvest and the fact that other countries have pulled back the bulk (75%) of their aid as our man Kim has done everything he could to make people hate his country. "We are losing the fight against hunger in North Korea," WFP Director Banbury told a news conference. "If donors do not respond to the request, millions of people are going to go hungry.""

" and cut expectations for inflation but that is based on an oil price target of $57, questionable today. "Markets have moved to reprice risks, but calm could yet give way to less settled conditions," ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said in the publication. "If asset prices get badly punctured and reversals occur, the chill would be widely felt." That has got to be the worst positive spin I?ve ever heard?"

""With these high growth rates, we?re seeing a surge in housing and equity prices," ADB?s chief economist, Ifzal Ali, said. "We?re seeing fast credit expansion, rising prices of goods, particularly food items." OK, now I think they?re just messing with us - this sounds like an economic report from September 1929!"

"Europe is flat and dull this morning ahead of the U.S. open but it won?t take much to push those markets off a cliff as well. Bernanke starts speaking near the close of the EU trading so expect a reaction over there to set the tone over here this afternoon. I?ve been grousing about the evils of the consumer society and someone sent me "

". Best quote by Edward Bernays, the architect of the consumer society "I decided (on returning from Paris in WW1) that if we could use propaganda for war, then we could use it during peace to influence the people." Bernays? most dramatic experiment was to persuade women to smoke - he connected cigarettes with Freudian (his Uncle) symbolism to connect women?s feelings of inferiority to NOT smoking. If you?ve never taken a marketing/psychology course, I highly recommend spending an hour to learn from this video."

". People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. Man?s desires must overshadow his needs." Wow - mission accomplished, fellows ? can we please stop now?"

"We NEED our desire culture to hold up in the face of some very tough news today. The consumer confidence numbers are already showing cracks and, as I warned last week, as foreclosures pick up and everyone knows someone who is losing their home, confidence can go out the window pretty fast. The U.S. consumer has played the role of Lazarus more often than not so we?re not going to declare them dead until we thoroughly examine the body, but we?ll see how far Dr. Bernanke is willing to go today to tell Congress that what looks like pneumonia is just a head cold."

" and I?ll have a full list up on the member site before the market opens but an obvious one is a variation of our already existing Diamonds Trust, Series 1 (AMEX: "

") Apr $120 and $122 puts we?ve been holding for protection as well as the iShares Goldman Sachs Semiconductor (AMEX: "

") $79 puts but let?s see how our levels hold up before we start panicking - like I said, today is a great test, if nothing else."

"We?re going to keep is simple today, up would be amazing, so let?s
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